Testing timelines for laboratory samples set by revenue laboratory; reporting periods assigned per commodity and subject to operational constraints.
Mandates commodity-specific reporting timelines for testing import/export samples at the JNCH Revenue Laboratory, measured from receipt of samples, covering categories such as petroleum products, minerals, metals, polymers, textiles, food items, rice, fertilizers, NDPS, solvents, oils, miscellaneous items, and drugs. The timelines aim to ensure transparency and prompt reporting but are conditional on adequate manpower, instrument functionality, and testing staff workload; trade parties may report implementation difficulties to the Commissioner.

Customs process automation enables automated import registration, clearance and export orders where duty and compliance conditions are satisfied.
Customs automation introduces auto goods registration for specified eligible importers, including authorised economic operator entities, eligible manufacturer importers, longstanding supply-chain importers and direct port delivery users. Auto Out of Charge is available to importers after applicable duty payment where no compliance requirement remains. Auto Let Export Order is available for facilitated shipping bills not selected for examination or assessment, requiring no partner government agency no-objection certificate, and with applicable duty or cess paid.

Electronic Bond-cum-Legal Undertaking permitted, allowing digital e-BLUT submission and dispensing with stamp paper and notarization.
The Bond-cum-Legal Undertaking (BLUT) required under the SEZ Act, 2005 and SEZ Rules, 2006 may be submitted electronically in formats specified by the Department. The BLUT may be executed as an electronic Bond-cum-Legal Undertaking (e-BLUT), including by e-stamp or other digital mechanisms and aligned with systems like ICEGATE. Execution on non-judicial stamp paper and notarization are dispensed with.

Freight reimbursement support for hinterland MSMEs mitigates locational logistics disadvantage via online intent-and-claim reimbursement process.
A pilot LIFT scheme under the Export Promotion Mission provides partial reimbursement of eligible freight for MSME exports from specified hinterland districts, subject to IEC and Udyam eligibility, listed products and districts, distance criteria, a uniform reimbursement rate applied against a capped freight value relative to FOB, annual ceilings per IEC, exclusions for deemed exports and SEZs, and prospective application. A two stage online Intent to Claim and Reimbursement Claim process with documentary evidence and quarterly filing with jurisdictional DGFT enables direct bank disbursement; a DGFT sub committee will advise on eligible districts, products, rates and monitoring.

Facilitating Logistics, Overseas Warehousing and Fulfilment enables subsidised support for overseas storage and distribution to eligible Indian entities.
FLOW is a pilot intervention under EPM-NIRYAT DISHA to support overseas storage, distribution, display and fulfilment arrangements for Indian MSMEs. Assistance is limited to lease/rental, common facility and operational expenses (excluding capital expenditure), available to Indian-incorporated eligible entities under prescribed conditions. Projects must meet reporting, utilisation certificate and monitoring requirements; funds are released in instalments against milestones, and advances are refundable with interest if objectives are unmet. Approved projects must include sustainability, due diligence, and compliance with host-country approvals, with governance by a DGFT Sub-Committee and operationalisation by the EPM Section, DGFT(HQ).

Trade intelligence support launched under EPM to bolster exporter capacity, digital trade tools, and non financial assistance frameworks.
Launches the INSIGHT intervention under EPM - NIRYAT DISHA to provide non financial support for exporter preparedness through four sub areas: Export Capacity Building, District/Cluster Export Facilitation, Trade Intelligence and Analytics, and Research/Pilot Interventions. Eligible government bodies, recognised institutions and recommended organisations may apply via prescribed formats; assistance is limited to project specific operational costs (excluding physical infrastructure) and ordinarily provided on a cost sharing basis with specified ceilings and exemptions for government entities. Outputs are to be disseminated via Government platforms; IP and funding, disbursement, monitoring, compliance and sanctions are governed by detailed annexures and a Sub Committee oversight mechanism.

Compliance reimbursement scheme TRACE enables partial support to MSMEs for conformity assessment costs to secure market access.
TRACE is a prospective pilot reimbursement initiative under the Export Promotion Mission to partially reimburse eligible MSMEs for costs of testing, inspection, certification, audits and traceability systems required for market access or to demonstrate compliance with internationally recognised standards. Eligibility requires an active IEC (not on the Denied Entity List) and MSME Udyam Registration; support is available only for activities undertaken on or after the commencement date and follows a two stage online Intent to Claim and Reimbursement Claim process with post disbursement verification.

Export factoring support: interest subvention for eligible MSME exports to improve access to alternative trade finance.
The intervention provides prospective pilot interest subvention support to eligible MSMEs for export factoring (recourse and non-recourse) arranged with RBI/IFSCA-regulated entities, restricted to exports under a notified HS six-digit positive list; claims are submitted online IEC-wise, disbursed to the IEC-linked bank account upon verification, and governed by specified ceilings, periodic reviews of subvention rates and reporting, with a Sub-Committee and EPM (DGFT) responsible for operationalisation.

Deferred customs duty payment extends to eligible manufacturer importers, with revised payment timelines and holiday-based due-date treatment.
Deferred payment of customs import duty is extended to 30 days for eligible importers from 1 March 2026. Duty relating to Bills of Entry returned for payment in months other than March is payable by the first day of the following month, while March Bills of Entry require payment by the last day of March. Eligible Manufacturer Importers may seek approval to access the facility, with applications permitted from 1 March 2026. ICES has been enhanced, and holidays and Sundays are excluded where a due date falls on such days.

Export obligation discharge: licence holders must submit specified EODC documents or face recovery proceedings.
DEEC (M. Cell), NCH reports a backlog of Advance Authorizations due to non submission of EODC; licence holders listed in Annexure A must email specified documents (EODC/redemption letter or LUT cancellation; bonds/BGs and acknowledgements; payment challans; DGFT submissions and acknowledgements) from their entity based email to [email protected] by the deadline to permit verification; failure to submit satisfactory documentation will lead to recovery proceedings.

First Appellate Authority designation under the RTI Act appointed for the Chief Commissioner's Office with immediate effect.
The Chief Commissioner of Customs, Kolkata Customs Zone has designated an officer as the First Appellate Authority under Section 5 of the Right to Information Act, 2005. The appointment names the officer by name and designation, is effective immediately and until further orders, and expressly supersedes earlier public notices regarding the FAA for the Chief Commissioner's Office.

External Commercial Borrowing reporting formats updated; revised ECB 1 and ECB 2 now mandated and effective immediately.
The Reserve Bank has revised the External Commercial Borrowing reporting formats in the Master Direction by substituting Part V - Annex I and Part V - Annex II with revised Form ECB 1 and Form ECB 2, respectively. The new forms require detailed borrower and lender information, borrowing terms, end use, interest and fee particulars, receipts, utilisation, debt servicing, hedging and LRN closure details. Authorised Persons must notify customers, and the directions-issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act-are effective immediately and subject to any other statutory permissions.

Health Security and National Security Cess: registration, payment and declaration procedures required on the CBIC Taxpayers' Portal.
The Health Security and National Security Cess (HSNS Cess) is levied on notified goods under the Act, effective from 1 February 2026; Advisory No. 1/2026 covers CBIC Taxpayers' Portal login, new registration and payment procedures, Advisory No. 2/2026 specifies the Accounting Head for HSNS Cess payments, and Advisory No. 4/2026 sets out the declaration filing procedure on the Portal; the advisories are enclosed for action and circulation to trade associations listed in Annexure I.

Automated Goods Registration for e sealed exports enables auto movement of validated Shipping Bills to registration without exporter presence.
Automated Goods Registration enables ICEGATE to notify ICES when RFID e-sealed, self-sealed factory stuffed containers arrive so that, provided Annexure C has been filed and all required goods registration fields validate, the Shipping Bill will automatically move to the goods registration queue without exporter presence; mismatches or missing information will trigger ICEGATE notice and require the exporter to follow manual registration procedures.

Split Indicator Flag update requires final split record designation to avoid validation errors and ensure system closure.
The SCMTR application now requires a Split Indicator to be declared: Y where an MBL/BL is split across multiple filings (all split records must use Y and collectively match the original BL), N where the BL is a single complete filing, and F for the last split record only, which is mandatory to enable system validation and closure. Incorrect or inconsistent use may produce validation errors, delays, or rejections, and stakeholders must ensure accurate, consistent declaration at filing.

Registration forms for stock brokers and clearing members specified; exchanges must implement, notify members, and amend rules.
Specification of standardised Form A (stock broker application), Form B (clearing member application) and Form C (certificate of registration) under the SEBI (Stock Brokers) Regulations, 2026, detailing required particulars (entity and trade details, net worth, PAN, particulars of proprietors/partners/directors, experience and supporting documents), required undertakings including compliance with the Fit and proper person criteria, declaration exposing registrants to cancellation for false information, procedural requirements on organizational documents, MoUs, fees, and directions to exchanges/clearing corporations to notify members and amend governance rules; effective retrospectively from the Regulations' notification.

Hazardous cargo declaration required at item level; system flags entries and officers must record nature when applicable.
Importers or customs brokers must declare hazardous cargo at the item level in the Bill of Entry for goods under Chapters 28, 29 and 38 using the Single Window BE_SW_INFO_TYPE table with fields for info type (CHR), info qualifier (HZRDS), an info code (Y/N) and mandatory info text when 'Y' is selected. The system flags declared hazardous Bills of Entry to prompt officer verification; no flag appears when 'N' is declared. If an officer changes the CTH to a heading in Chapters 28, 29 or 38, the officer must likewise record hazardous cargo details in the prescribed format.

External Commercial Borrowing framework revised; authorised dealer banks must apply amended FEMA borrowing and lending regulations when facilitating transactions.
The amendment updates the External Commercial Borrowing framework and directs Authorised Dealer Category I banks to follow the Foreign Exchange Management (Borrowing and Lending) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2026 when facilitating FEMA-governed borrowing and lending transactions. It consolidates provisions by deleting specified paragraphs from two Master Directions and removing Part I of the ECB and Trade Credits FAQs, and requires banks to notify affected customers. The directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act and do not affect other statutory permissions or approvals.

Hazardous cargo declarations in Bills of Entry trigger verification alerts and require details when specified goods are identified as hazardous.
Importers must make an item-level hazardous cargo declaration in Bills of Entry for goods falling under Chapters 28, 29 and 38. Hazardous goods require disclosure of their nature through the prescribed Single Window information, while non-hazardous goods are separately identified. The system flags declared hazardous cargo for verification, assessment, examination and out-of-charge processing. Where a revised classification during assessment falls within the specified chapters, the assessing officer must record hazardous-cargo details through the prescribed mechanism.

Declaration of Stainless Steel Grade must be recorded in customs entries and shipping bills to enable export-input correlation.
Imports of stainless steel under Advance Authorisation endorsed with commercial grades (e.g., J1-J5) must declare the specific grade and the percentages of Chromium, Nickel and Manganese in the Bill of Entry and invoice, with Customs attestation; shipping bills discharging the authorisation must record the same chemical percentages to enable correlation between imported inputs and resultant export products. Importers may apply for amendment of previously filed Bills of Entry, which shall be granted without delay to permit OOC clearance.